Barack Obama: Neither a Threat Nor the Only Hope

By Brigitte L. Nacos
Under the headline “Foes Use Obama’s Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him,” the Washington Post’s Perry Bacon Jr. reported this week that posts on the Internet and voices on talk radio “allege that Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, a ‘Muslim plant’ in a conspiracy against America, and that, if elected president, he would take the oath of office using a Koran, rather than a Bible, as did Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the only Muslim in Congress, when he was sworn in earlier this year.” The article also mentions that prominent conservative talk-show stars and alarmist posters on Internet message boards refer implicitly or explicitly to the prospect of a Muslim president with radio talk show host Michael Savage noting Obama's ‘background" in a "Muslim madrassa in Indonesia’ in June, and Rush Limbaugh in September that he occasionally got ‘confused’ between Obama and Osama bin Laden.” It is well known that conservative circles also make a point of using the senator's middle name, Hussein, in obvious efforts to construct a Muslim association. Senator Obama hasn’t made a secret of the fact that his father’s family in Kenya was of Muslim faith; he himself is a Christian and member of a church on Chicago’s South Side.

This is not the first time that the religion of a presidential candidate is questioned.  When Senator John F. Kennedy ran for the highest office nearly half a century ago, the prospect of a Catholic in the White House fueled rumors about the influence of the pope on U.S. decision-making. And the current presidential bid by Mitt Romney, a Mormon, has raised questions about the influence of the Mormon Church on a future Mormon president. As for Senator Obama, it is not his own religious affiliation that is targeted by some conservatives with large audiences but rather his grandfather’s and father’s. One can’t even imagine to what scare tactics the conspiracy crowd would resort, if Obama were indeed a Muslim. Obviously, the same people who love to cite the U.S. Constitution when it supports their extremist positions forget conveniently that the document guarantees religious freedom.

On the other hand, it has been suggested that Senator Obama is the only presidential candidate who, if elected, could solve America’s Middle East problems because of his distinct background. This is what Seymour Hersh argues recently when he spoke to a history class at UC Irvine taught by Jon Wiener. Wiener wrote in the Huffington Post,
“Barack Obama represents ‘the only hope for the US in the Muslim world,’ according to Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh. Because Obama's father was a Muslim, he ‘could lead a reconciliation between the Muslim countries and the US.’ With any of the other candidates as president, Hersh said, ‘we're facing two or three decades of problems in the Mideast, with 1.2 billion Muslims.’ “

Similarly, Andrew Sullivan writes in the December issue of The Atlantic Monthly (subscription needed),

“Consider this hypothetical. It’s November 2008. A young Pakistani is watching television and sees that this man—Barack Hussein Obama—is the new face of America. In one simple image, America’s soft power has been ratcheted up not a notch, but a logarithm. A brown-skinned man whose father was an African, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, who attended a majority Muslim school as a boy, is now the alleged enemy. If you wanted the crudest but most effective weapon against the demonization of America that fuels Islamist ideology, Obama’s face gets close. It proves them wrong about what America is in ways no words can.”

Obama has encouraged these views. For example, it was reported that he told a crowd in Iowa, “The day I’m inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently, but the world also looks at America differently. Because I’ve got a grandmother who lives in a little village in Africa without running water or electricity; because I grew up for part of my formative years in Southeast Asia in the largest Muslim country on Earth.” This, he has said, gives him knowledge of foreign affairs based on experience not class room learning.

I want to see the day, when America elects the first black president; and I want to see the day, when Americans elect the first female president. But while race, multicultural roots, gender, or religious affiliation should not be obstacles on the road to the oval office, these markers alone should not guide voters to cast their ballots in favor of a black or female candidate.

As far as Senator Obama’s candidacy is concerned, his detractors’ on the far right are shameful in spreading their conspiracy theories. But I also disagree with those who boost this candidate as the only hope to assure a new, bright chapter in 21^st century America and better relations with Middle Eastern countries and the rest of the world on account of his multicultural background.
Yes, America’s standing in world opinion is at a record low. As I wrote the other day, the next administration must come up with a fresh public diplomacy approach—especially in the Arab and Muslim world and thereby counter Islamic extremists’ propaganda and recruitment schemes. If Senator Obama presents during this campaign the best agenda for solving the multitude of problems at home and abroad, he deserves to win his party's nomination and the White House. But he should not be elected because of his boosters' claim that his multi-cultural and multi-religious roots will bolster America's image among Muslims abroad and lead the way to reconcile America and Muslim countries. 

P.S. According to the ABC News blog Political Radar, Senator Obama's efforts to boost his foreign policy credentials include the following remarks in March of this year,
"If I go to Jakarta and address the largest Muslim country on earth, I can say, 'Apa kabar,' -- you know, 'How are you doing?' -- and they can recognize that I understand their common humanity. That is a strength and it allows me to say things to them that other presidents might not be able to say. And that's part of what's promising, I think, about this presidency."
Following Obama's most recent remarks linking his stay in Indonesia during his childhood to his leadership in foreign policy , Clinton replied according to Political Radar that "voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face."

    

Comments

[nabalzbbfr]

It is clear that Obama purposefully wants to preserve ambiguity about his religious preferences. If he wanted to clearly indicate that he is a Christian, he would have adopted a *CHRISTIAN* name instead of the overtly *MUSLIM* "Barack Saddam". There is a long biblically sanctioned tradition of heathens changing their names upon becoming followers of Christ (particularly if their original names are offensive), for example Simon->Peter, Saul->Paul. So there is a lot of legitimacy in questioning Obama's religious proclivities.

[Tony]

Hello Brigitte, another fine column. I wouldn't change my name to mollify critics, because I suspect that they would consult their lists and announce their next items. If a name is enough to sway a voter, maybe s/he should step aside and allow us braver CITIZENS to exercise our franchise privileges. And if Obama would be a great fit in the ME, Larry the Cable Guy (who is qualified to lead the South because he grew up there) could be president and appoint Obama Ambassador to the Middle East.